Vygotsky s Zone of Proximal Development o Zone of proximal development gap between what learner can accomplish independently and what they can accomplish with guidance o Learn through guided participation collaboration with more knowledgeable companions which drives cognitive development o Harry Harlow best known for his maternal separation and social isolation experiments on monkeys which demonstrated the importance of care giving and companionship in social and cognitive development comfort of the fake monkey made of cloth was preferred by the baby monkey than the food from fake monkey made of wire Though the fake monkey made of wire had a feeding bottle attached to it the baby monkey would spend most of its time with the fake monkey made of cloth The only time it would leave the fake monkey made of cloth was when it was hungry Brain development o Neurons decrease due to synaptic pruning 50 of neurons during development do not make it to adulthood o Brain size increases due to o Broca s area left frontal lobe of brain specialized for language production o Wernicke s area left temporal lobe of brain specialized for language comprehension Mary Ainsworth s attachment style attachment use of person as a secure base attachment security confidence that secure base will always return be there attachment insecurity uncertainty of return of the secure base o Secure Such children feel confident that the attachment figure will be available to meet their needs They use the attachment figure as a safe base to explore the environment and seek the attachment figure in times of distress Infants develop a secure attachment when the caregiver is sensitive to their signals and responds appropriately to their needs o Insecure avoidant do not orientate to their attachment figure while investigating the environment They are very independent of the attachment figure both physically and emotionally They do not seek contract with the attachment figure when distressed Such children are likely to have a caregiver who is insensitive and rejecting of their needs o Insecure resistant The child will commonly exhibit clingy and dependent behavior but will be rejecting of the attachment figure when they engage in interaction The child fails to develop any feelings of security from the attachment figure Accordingly they exhibit difficulty moving away from the attachment figure to explore novel surroundings When distressed they are difficult to soothe and are not comforted by interaction with the attachment figure This behavior results from an inconsistent level of response to their needs from the primary caregiver o Disorganized characterized by no consistent attachment strategy and therefore no real way for the child to cope with the given conditions For instance when the mother returns into the play room the child shows no coherent coping strategy Parenting Style styles outcomes criticisms cultural and SES impacts o Authoritarian High demandingness control low responsiveness acceptance Many rules and demands few explanations and little sensitivity to childs needs and perspectives o Authoritative high demandingness high responsiveness Reasonable demands consistently enforced with sensitivity to and acceptance of child o Permissive low demandingness high responsiveness Few rules and demands children are allowed much freedom by indulgent o Neglectful Disengaged low demandingness low responsiveness few rules and demands parents are uninvolved and insensitive to childrens needs parents o Outcomes Authoritative independent creative self assured socially skilled Authoritarian dependent passive conforming Permissive irresponsible conforming immature Neglectful Disengaged impulsive behavior problems early sex drugs o Cultural Differences in traditional cultures Asian culture filial piety Latino culture respeto familismo Cultures have different forms of control and warmth o Effects of SES social class for parenting style Lower SES parents Stress obedience to authority Restrictive and authoritarian Use reasoning less Show less warmth affection Middle SES parents Stress individual initiative achievement Discipline Punishment o Cultures differ on systems of discipline for misbehavior Western cultures may emphasize authoritative approach like timeout Japanese emphasizes withdrawal of love and shame o Culture influences consequences of discipline Physical punishment corporal punishment is common in most parts of the world Many studies western countries have found detrimental effects of physical punishment Early Childhood Education interventions cultural differences SES differences quality research results o Developed countries 3 5 years old o Developing Gross vs Fine motor development what can kids do during this age gender differences o Jumping and throwing further o Climbing without support o Drawing shapes letters and sentences o Reaching these developmental milestones is important because o Possible effects of preschool Physical Cognitive Gross and fine motor development Higher verbal skills Stronger performance on memory Listening comprehension Score higher on school readiness for low SES Social Children are more independent and confident o Early intervention preschool Head start Cognitive development for at risk children Started in 1965 Receive up to 2 years of pre kindergarten Results less likely to repeat a grade or be placed in special ed High scope Full day two year program Similar IQ effects head start Results o increased chance of graduating high school and attending college o less likely to become pregnant or arrested o increased income and family stability o Preschool Quality are all schools created equal Quality of school important for children s outcome Education and training for teachers Class size and child teacher ratio Age appropriate materials and activities Teacher child interactions Montessori preschool head start high scope preschool project o Cultural variation differences In Japan and most of Europe Focus on social skills Stress group involvement Higher in math reading and science in middle and high school In U S and China Focus on basic academic skills Cognitive development o Piaget s Stages of development what can kids do what can t they do o Preoperational stage Conservation o Centration o Reversibility Egocentrism o Animism Classification Tomasello s Theory of Mind o Joint attention o Pretend play o False belief task inability to view from another perspective Ex Child is shown a box labeled